The Archers Tale
by TheDarkWitchofNarnia
Summary: Rin is a survivor of the Ga'mi gypsy massacre. Fate has decreed that she will restore peace to her people. But she cannot succeed on her own. No, she must first help a certain bold monk to fulfill his destiny before she can dream of fulfilling hers.
1. Prologue: Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I do not own the avatar or his friends. Nothing. Nada. Nicht. Naught but my OC and any others that I might add. Anywhoo enjoy.**

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><p><span>Prologue: Nightmares<span>

The village of Ga'mi was ablaze. Fire roared in every direction burning everything in its path. The heat was intense and smoke billowed out from every roof, rising into the night sky till it covered the stars like a dark veil. The screams and cries of the villagers could be heard above anything else, by now most of the livestock had been either burned to a crisp or were escaping into the woods along with the women and children. Most of the men had stayed behind to fight off the fire benders in a hope to give the others a chance to escape. It didn't matter whether they were warriors or not, if you had a knife and an able body you used it. But still we were no match.

The onslaught of the fire nation soldiers was causing the men to move back towards the village square. That meant I had to work fast to get everyone out of here safely.

A piercing scream brought me back to reality and I looked up to see one of the washerwomen stumbling forward, a bundle of cloth in her arms. A fire nation soldier who had got past our defence was advancing on her, his spear raised ready to strike.

"No!" I shouted, and in the next moment my arrow was quivering in his neck, in the gap between the collar of his armour and his helmet, and his spear clattered to the ground alongside its owner.

The woman half ran half crawled towards the safety behind my bow. Strands of singed hair which had came undone from her high bun now framed her soot covered face. Tear tracks covered her cheeks and a gash across her forehead was seeping blood. As she got closer I could see the bundle in her arms was actually a baby.

"Get to the woods" I commanded her, my voice coming out all raspy and horse due to all the smoke and screaming I had done. "Find Je-Sung and the others, stick with them. Forget provisions, go NOW!" I shouted at her, pulling her to her feet, pushing her in the right direction. "Quil! Quil!"

The woman hurried away dodging past fallen pieces of burning debris, heading north to the surrounding woods. The shouts of the men tell me that the battle is getting closer. I look around again checking in the broken down buildings for any stragglers, checking and double checking that I wasn't leaving anyone behind.

I could see the men now hurrying towards me, many were wounded and bloody, great balls of fire chasing them. Some of the injured I recognised, though others were too bruised and bloodied for me to distinguish. One of the men spotted me, his was the baker, a big man usually calm and tranquil, now barbaric and feral. His eyes locked with mine for a moment, and he let out a strangled cry and pointed behind me.

I turned around just in time to see a ball of fire heading my way. Immediately my training kicked in and I dropped straight to the ground, laying flat on my back as the inferno flew over my head. I was allowed a seconds rest before another attack was sent my way. Rolling out the way, I got up on my knees, my hand reaching for an arrow behind me. Notching it in my bow, my chest arched into the night as I pulled back the string and took aim at the fire bender before me. He was large and brutish, his armour held the symbol of the fire nation. His hands were fiery fists as he sent another wave of the burning element my way.

I dove out of the way, my body curling up into a protective ball. The fire bender started to laugh maniacally, watching as I was forced to move and dodge his fire, my body bending into ridiculous shapes in an attempt to not get hit. His laughter struck me deep down and I came up with a new unrelenting hatred for him and his kind. The fire nation had taken everything from me and now one of its soldiers was standing laughing at me, finding the destruction of my life amusing. I wanted him to pay for what he had done to me, to pay for his laughter.

My arms acted instinctively drawing the bow up in front of me, I took the time of a heart beat to aim before letting the arrow go. It soared high through the air missing him by a mile. Cursing under my breath I drew another arrow as quickly as I could and took aim again this time taking longer to make sure I didn't miss. The soldier was mocking me making no move to get out of the way probably thinking I was no threat. Gritting my teeth I let the arrow go and this time it hit its mark, piercing his armour, straight into his heart.

I didn't have time to congratulate myself as I was up and running through the streets up to where I knew Je-Sung and the others were.

All the buildings were on fire now, leaving a narrow gap in the middle of street where there was nothing to burn. The air was thick and heavy with smoke causing my asthma to strike up again. I could hardly breathe; the flames were licking at my bear arms making the skin angry and red. At some point my bow caught fire and with a cry I threw it to the ground trying in vain to stop the flames from eating it up but with no success. The fumes had made my eyes water and my vision became blurry, that and the intense heat forced me to move on and leave my beloved weapon behind.

I soon got lost among the roads and avenues, the streets that I would walk everyday had been turned into an unrecognisable maze. Tears were streaming down my face and my only thought was that I was going to die here alone in this tortuous hell. A loud cracking sound came from besides me. I didn't even have the energy to move or cry out as I watched the house fall on top of me...

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><p><strong>Okay, this is just a taster to get a feel of the story, I'll upload the proper chapters soon. As I mentioned in the summary Ga'mi is a gypsy city, or I guess it was... I don't know if the avatar universe even had gypsies, we know there were pirates because Katara stole that water bending scroll form them, but gypsies? No I don't think they're mentioned. The gypsies in my story are gonna be very cultural and quite frankly are the 'vermin' of the avatar world, I guess like in a 'hunch back of notre dame' sort of way. And yes I know Asia didn't have gypsies, but hey this is my story alright?<strong>

**I only used one word in this chapter thing which was 'Quil' So you know Quil means go. It is pronounced 'queel'. Long sounding 'E'. Also the city's name Ga'mi is pronounced 'Gar-mee'. The word Ga'mi originates from the gypsy word for home which is 'Gamani' **

**This is a made up language and has no references with any others as far as I know. But hey maybe in some part of the world Quil does mean go. Also I'm not gonna do like masses of conversation in the language just the odd word which you won't really need to follow the story with any way.**

**This story will be an eventual romance at the moment with Zuko though that may change to Sokka. I don't think I'm gonna end up writing a romance with Aang, though if I did then I can guarantee now that there will be a side pairing of zutara. Who knows maybe there will be, with oc with sokka and then toph and anng. But at the moment I'm planning for a zuko/Oc pairing.**

**Anyway I really hoped you enjoyed reading the taster and a review of what you thought would be nice xx**


	2. The Storm

**Disclaimer: Okay I'm gonna say this one more time, so lawyers could you please get off my back: I do not own the avatar. Though if I did...you should be afraid, _very_ afraid (que evil laughter)**

The Storm

I gasped, sitting bolt upright as ice cold water hit me in the face awakening me from my sleep. Disorientated I wiped the last of my nightmare from mind and eyes, opening them only to have more water spray into them. I could taste the salty sea water on my lips. I tried to get to my feet but the violent rocking of the boat caused me to stumble over and knock into something large and warm. I opened my stinging eyes to see Kari's large red ones staring back. Kari was my white sea panther, at three years old she still had a lot of growing to do before she reached her full size, despite that she was still big enough to carry about my small form without much trouble. Being a sea panther she was my one life line out here as I couldn't swim. If I fell into the water it would be up to her to save me. 'A lot of pressure to put on a cub' her eyes seemed to say.

Another large wave crashed over us, and the water tumbled me over and carried me across the deck. I heard Kari's snarl as I crashed to a halt against the low sides of the boat which stopped me from being washed overboard by the huge weight of water. My supplies had not been so lucky and I watched the last of my rations disappear over the edge into the raging sea. Up ahead a flash of lightning crossed the sky quickly followed by an extremely loud crack of thunder which shook me to the very core. The rain came down. Very hard.

I was numb, the supposedly waterproof fur coat I wore that increased my size considerably, did nothing to keep the cold water out. Looking down I saw my seal fur backpack at my feet. Inside were all my personal possessions; the tribal bracelet that had once belonged to my mother, my Fathers fang earring and the mask I had bought two years ago with Peche, as well as spare arrows to my bow, which I could not see anywhere. Just then the boat tipped back the other way and my backpack slid towards the ocean, I couldn't lose it. Reacting quickly, I twisted and flipped myself onto my stomach, so I was now sliding head first across the deck. I wrapped my legs around the mast and with one arm holding onto Kari's collar, the other lunged for the backpack. My fingers just managing to hook themselves into the straps before the bag vanished into the wild water.

It took a great amount of strength to stand up, my arms wrapped around the mast in my open-air-one-man-fishing-boat. The boat 'The Blue Gullfisher' had originally belonged to an old earth kingdom fisherman. In return for me healing his granddaughter of some nasty looking purple spots (turned out she was allergic to snapdragons) he had given me the boat as payment. I knew the deal was too good to be true I mean, come _on,_ a boat in return for a couple of simple healing ointments. Sure enough the boat was old, small and, as I found out a couple of days ago (a couple of days too late mind you) leaked like a sieve. And to top it off, 'The _Blue_ Gullfisher' wasn't even blue. When I had first seen her, she looked like one good storm would sink her for good. But she was the best offer I got, so I took her.

Right at that moment, however, as another bone-freezing wave washed over me, I was seriously regretting my decision. The boat's deck rocked violently from side to side and I clung to the mast for dear life while Kari was trying to get a grip using her claws trying not to fall into the icy water. The mast made a cracking sound and I knew it wasn't going to last long. Then I noticed the large wave towering above us. On the wave, was an iceberg the size of a house, showing how close we were to the South Pole.

To me there was no doubt in my mind that the boat would not survive and neither would I. Standing there, clinging to the rocking mast, I had a feeling of déjà vu. I remembered my nightmare, the same one I had since the night the fire nation had destroyed my home town three years ago. The last thing I remember from that night was when the burning building was falling towards me. This is when I always wake up. I learnt later I had passed out before the building hit me and was saved by Je-Sung. I guess the sense of déjà vu came from the fact that this was the second time I had to stand and watch something fall on top of me. The first time it had been a burning building that tried to kill me, this time it was freezing cold ice wave. 'I swear the elements are out to get me' I muttered as the wall of water came crashing down.

Just before the iceberg hit the boat something knocked into me from behind and I felt an uncomfortable pressure on the back of my neck. It was Kari, who had launched herself off the unstable deck towards me, her mouth closing round the back of my neck as she picked me up, not unlike a mother would do to her cubs. Next thing I knew I was flying through the air into the freezing water. I was already soaked through to the bone and frozen to the point of numbness with the onset of extreme frost bite. Despite this, _nothing_, I repeat nothing could have prepared me for the sheer coldness of the water. My entire body screamed in protest as it felt like the ice was literally burning my skin. All the breath had been knocked out my body and when I opened my mouth to breathe all I got a mouth full of sea water.

I hung on to Kari as she struggled to keep us both afloat. We were both dragged down by the swirling current, I swallowed water and my head became light headed and dizzy. My survival rested squarely on her shoulders, as she began to swim upwards towards the much needed air. Being a sea-panther, Kari has the ability to hold her breath for a very long time; her red eyes allow her to see through murky water, as well as through mist and in the dark. She is an excellent swimmer, her strong leg muscles enable her to swim against strong currents. As for the temperature of the water, her white fur takes in cold water and sort of recycles it into body heat. It was that feature alone that stopped me from freezing to death.

As we broke the surface I spat and coughed out as much water while at the same time trying to breath in as much of the cold South Pole air as I could. This I soon found was physically impossible, as I threw up the contents of my stomach in to the still raging water. While I had been momentarily submerged, nothing about the storm had stopped; as thunder still rolled across the sky and rain continued to try and beat the water flat, the only difference was that I now noticed the dark cloudy sky was getting lighter as dawn approached.

I had been right about the boat not surviving getting hit by the ice berg as the water around me was now filled with the floating chunks that were the remainder of 'The Blue Gullfisher'. Then I spotted it, my bow floating a couple meters away from us, half in half out of the fast moving water. As another wave crashed on top of us, it brought the pieces of driftwood and ice as well as my bow close to me. While under water I made a grab for the weapon. The bow floated towards us and got kicked by Kari's powerful moving limbs into my gloved hands. A piece of particularly sharp ice caught me on the side of the head, leaving me struggling to comprehend anything except pain, cold and Kari.

As the storm blew on we sort of fell into a pattern; Kari would swim a little, and then we'd get overtaken by wave, resurface, breath and repeat. All the while I lay across Kari's back, my arms wrapped tightly round her neck and my face buried in her fur as I tried to absorb as much of her body heat as possible. Whenever I could I would slide to the side a little and kick my legs in an attempt to help but fatigue would always wash over me and it was all I could do to remain conscious. I had slung my bow and backpack over my back; they were the only things I had managed to salvage from boat. From time to time I would notice spots of red blood on her fur. Whether it was her blood or mine I did not know.

We kept going, we had too. I had to survive and find the avatar, for only he could restore peace to my people. And out of all of us, only I could find him, because it's my destiny to help the avatar fulfil his. At least, that's what the elders had said and every gypsy learns from a young age that you must never question the elders. It has been a year since they told me of my destiny, a year since I stopped training with Master Peche, a year since I took off on my own to search for the avatar. And it had been three years since the massacre in Ga'mi, and the destruction of my home. So we kept going, struggling against the ocean's power, heading south to where the closest land was. But even then we were days away from the South Pole or the Earth Kingdom. Our only hope was to get picked up by a passing ship.

The rain had started to lighten up as the first streaks of sunlight broke across the sky. I raised my head looking at the dark shaped lump on the horizon a billow of smoke rising from the top. My vision blurred and blackened when I saw the ship, I no longer had the energy to stay awake. I felt Kari change direction and swim towards the boat, she must have been tired but she still managed to keep going. Despite the changes in the sky, the water below was still trying its best to drown us, and as we got nearer to the boat, I found my arms weakening and I slide off Kari's back and into the water. As the expression goes, I sank like a rock. In the murky darkness of the water I twisted and turned my body, my limbs kicked out furiously as I tried to rise to the surface. And I was screaming, screaming for Kari, screaming for my life and once again I swallowed ice cold water.

Rough hands grabbed me, pulling me upwards. I felt an arm wrap around my waist and I surrendered letting him struggle against my dead weight. I didn't move as the currents of the water tried to drag us down. To the stranger I was just an empty shell. When we broke through the surface my body didn't seem to register the fact. It was like I had forgotten how to breathe. The stranger slung the top half of my body over Kari's back, the moment I made contact with her, waves of heat washed over me though they still were not enough to wake me from my icy prison.

There shouts and yells, as ropes were thrown down to us and I felt myself hoisted into the air then dumped like a fish on to the rocking deck of the boat.

"Not breathing" someone said, their breath hot on my icy cheek. Hands moved my head from side to side. Then something struck me hard on the side of the cheek while a large booted foot came down heavily on my stomach. The pain seemed to knock my brain into functioning again, and I rolled over and coughed up the water I had swallowed, breathing in the sweet, sweet morning air. Kari's growl came from above me, and a loud thump told me she had landed on the deck.

"See," said a triumphant voice. "Now it's breathing." I blinked, barely registering the fact I had been called an 'it'as I rolled other again to face my rescuers... a bunch of fire nation soldiers.

My eyes widened in their sockets before rolling into the back of my head and I slumped onto the floor in a dead faint.

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><p><strong>Duh Duh Durrrr! - Lets imagine that music was playing when you read those last couple lines, it makes the story seem a bit more dramatic. Okay so chapter 1, our heroine is stuck in storm, gets capsized and picked by fire nation soldiers. Also we are introduced to her animal companion; Kari. A white sea panther, a creature made up by moi. Okay so she looks basically like any ordinary panther except she has bright red eyes and white fur. I haven't stuck with the avatar-animal-rule-book here because she isn't a fusion between two animals, just an improved version of one. I needed our heroine to have an animal guide cause otherwise I had no idea how she would survive this scene, or life in general. Okay maybe that's an overstatement, but its always best to have someone watching your back if your in trouble. For Rin, that someone would be Kari.<strong>

**Sea-panthers come in three colours; Black (rare) usually found across the earth kingdom, Light brown (not as rare but still rare) tend to be found in the outbacks of the fire nation, and white (rarest of them all), environmentalists have not quite pinpointed the region where these creatures are found but they have recently announced that white sea panthers _do_ in fact exist and are not just the subject of legend like unihorns (though I have reason to believe they exist too.)**

**Also mentioned are Gullfishers, that are once again, a creation of moi. They are a cross between Kingfishers and seagull. They are the colour blue. Honestly I'm still not sure how to imagine them yet, maybe the size of a seagull but with a Kingfishers beak? Yeah, you know its bad when even the author doesn't know what she's writing. **

**Anywhoo no gypsy language used here so no dictionary today. Yeah I know this chapter isn't exactly long, and its been over a week since I last posted, probably two actually, so to the small group of you who favorited my story or put it on alerts, I am sorry. I am also really grateful to you for supporting me and I here by present to you virtual cookies. You can have one each except the kind sweet angel who reviewed (you know who you are) you can have two.**

**There was a lot of action in this scene, I hope it turned out okay. I spent alot of time re-writing this as the first couple of drafts were better off as virtual toilet paper than actual chapters. If I have miss spelled something or gotten grammar wrong please don't be afraid to tell me, and I would also like some constructive criticism because all I've got so far are one syllable answers and there not really the best foundation to improve upon. **

**Okay very long author comment, I'm gonna stop typing now. DarkWitchofNarnia signing out.**


	3. Interrogations part I

**Hey, yeah I'm back, it been a while...how you been? Anywhooo, disclaimers; I do not own anything underneath this text except for my Oc's. Enjoy lovely people!**

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><p><span>Interrogations Part I<span>

I was drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of muffled voices and a soft scuttling noise. I was laying on a bed of itchy straw, I had only a thin blanket on top of me, but despite this I was not cold. This was because from time to time someone would come and make me drink some kind of thick broth that filled me to my very core, causing waves of heat to wash over me. Whenever the effects of the drink started to wear off, I would be made to drink it again.

Dreams and memories fogged my brain making it hard to decipher reality from dreams. I could see my home in Ga'mi, and my family and friends. I remembered my time spent training with master Peche; I could hear his voice as clear as if he was standing next to me.

"Peace of mind" he would say. "To be one with yourself and your surroundings allows you to be one with your enemies. To be a true warrior of the gypsy tribes, you need to feel the earth beneath your feet, listen to the wind around you, smell the smoke of danger and sense the ever changing tides of fate. This can all be achieved with peace of mind. Remember this child; you must be calm even when in the face of tremendous dangers, this will allow you to think rationally when under pressure and enable you to walk through the shadows of sunlight."

Honestly, I haven't got a clue what it means to 'walk through the shadows of sunlight'. Knowing Peche, it's probably some kind of riddle that I will unravel at some crucial moment and save the day with my new found knowledge. At least that's what I hope will happen. I'd be rather annoyed if the line just turned out to be utter nonsense and not some deep, meaningful sentence that can lead to the path of spiritual enlightenment, as Peche claims it will.

He was always coming up with lines like that; he was either very wise or very mad, though Peche always said they were the same thing. If that's true, then I decided quite early on in my training that he was mad. Cranky and humourless, one of the best archers throughout all of the three remaining elements, but still bonkers. I always found that amusing, usually you'd expect a mad person to be happily mad but not Peche, it was always a rare thing to see him laugh. A smile flitted across my face as the memories of his scowling leathery face filled my head. His dark eyes and balding head. He always hated going bald. I had teased him about it once but he just hit me over the head and gave more drills to do.

Then his face was replaced with Je-Sung. His stereotypical gypsy features were laughing as flecks of water dripped from his hair. He looked young, and care free, with reddish brown hair, storm grey eyes and freckles that splashed across his sun tanned skin. Even when semi-conscious I recognised which memory the image had come from. It had been our tenth summer, and our troupe was travelling up to Ga'mi to celebrate the Ethęs, when we had stopped by a river for lunch break and to give the animals a chance to cool off. It had been one of those stifling, back sweating, metal burning, and too-hot-to-talk kind of day. I can remember Je' had tried to drag me into the water, and we ended up having a sort of wrestling match. This was before I had started training with Peche and before he started doing some of the heavier odd jobs so we were both pretty weak, but evenly matched. In the end we both fell into the water so we both lost. I had screamed my head off convinced I was drowning before realising I could stand up as the water only came up to my waist. Then Je' had started laughing at me so I splashed him in the face. Six minutes later over half of our troupe were engaged in a huge water fight, adults against children. I'm proud to say we won. Those were the days, before the fire nation decided that we gypsies were a threat to them.

Footsteps broke through my thoughts as they slowly got louder. Then there was the sound of locks clicking and a door nearby opened. The person belonging to the footsteps was getting closer, I could hear him breathing. Cool hands touched my face causing me to recoil and try to sink into the straw bed. My mind raced and tried desperately to get back into its semi-conscious state.

'_Peche must be coming to wake me up'_, my mind decided. It was morning and time for another drill. "Five more minutes" I grumble into my pillow. Peche continued to shake me, harder this time, his fingers digging painfully into my skin. "Go away Peche." I said louder. "Sia Dormne." But then I remembered my dreams, that they were memories from the past. I hadn't seen Peche in nearly a year.

My eyes snapped open. If it wasn't Peche shaking me then who was..? I rolled over and screamed.

Above me, stood a man wearing a skull-like mask and fire nation helmet that covered his face. Scrambling backwards my back hit something cold and solid. It was the wall, and it was made of metal. I looked around and saw the whole room was made of metal, the walls, floor, ceiling and even the bars that made up the door. I was in a cell.

"Shut up! Don't scream." Said the man, putting up his hands over my mouth. "And don't faint either."

I wriggled out from under his grip; his large gloved hand had made it hard to breathe. The mask covered the whole of his face, including his eyes so it was hard to tell whether he was actually looking at me or not. I recognised the mask; it was a standard fire nation uniform. Which means this guy was in the army. '_Great'._ Through the door I could see another guard watching us, his weapon raised. He probably got startled when I screamed. "That's better." The guard stood back from me, straightening up. His friend outside the cell relaxed from his stance.

I said nothing but look at my surroundings. The man in front of me was armed with only a spear but he could easily have a knife hidden somewhere. The cell door was shut, the guard outside had the keys hanging from his belt. There'd be no point trying to escape, the two of them would have easily out matched me at every turn. If I had had my bow and some distance between us then I might have stood a chance. But I didn't. '_My best hope would be to wait till they're distracted and then make a_ _run for it'._ I thought. But then where would I go? It was obvious from the rocking motion we were still on the boat. My only chance of escaping would be Kari, who was probably locked up in cell like me. For me to escape would mean me running around a boat I don't know my way around, and being out numbered. I'd be a fool to run. And even if I did find Kari, what point would there be escaping if the only place to go was a vast ocean. We could be miles away from any land and would starve to death. Or freeze.

"If you're thinking of escaping then stop. We've been issued permission to use force if you don't co-operate, and any attempts of escaping will not be taken lightly, Ga'minian scum" My eyes snap back to the man in front of me, his voice was bitter and filled with the hatred. He knew I was a gypsy, though it probably wasn't hard to deduce. I looked like a gypsy and I spoke with a Ga'minian accent.

"What do you want with me?" I ask for lack of a better question. He knew I was a gypsy which meant the people in charge knew too, so I shouldn't expect much. Nobody from the fire nation is ever hospitable to my kind.

"My orders are to take you to the General." He said grabbing my arms and pulling me to my feet. "We were going to wait till you awoke of your own accord but it's been three days and the Prince is becoming restless. Come." And with that he frog marched me out of the cell, his companion joining us at the door. The passage ways were narrow so we could only go one at a time, meaning I had one in front of me and the other behind; I was surrounded but I hardly cared.

My brain was already swimming with the two word bombs that the guard had dropped on me so casually. General and Prince. Even in its slow state my brain was able to put two and two together. I was on a fire nation boat, where there were fire nation soldiers and a fire nation Prince and General. My mind could draw only one conclusion. '_Zuko_.'

I didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved. Afraid because Zuko was a violent, irrational, empty headed youth with anger problems or relieved that I had caught up with him at last. A few months earlier the spirits had sent me a message during my sleep. I woke up the next morning knowing I would find the avatar through Zuko, so I've spent the past couple weeks at sea hoping to catch to with him, and now it seemed I had. '_And I'm his prisoner. Brilliant_.' Amazingly when I imagined us meeting properly face to face, me being weapon less, injured and captured never came to mind. Me kicking his ass though, did. '_Can't do that now, damn storm; this is entirely your fault!'_

Zuko has also been looking for the avatar though has a lot more resources and men to do it with. I figured, him having more advantages and stuff, he'd get more leads to the air bender's whereabouts so kept rough tabs on him for the past half a year or so. He and his Uncle Iroh, Dragon of the West and Ex General of the fire Nation, generally travelled on the seas whilst I went by land with Kari so I didn't exactly follow Zuko around but we did run into each other a lot when he came ashore. But most of those times were complete coincidences, and he's never actually seen my face before as we've only ever met while I was in my guise as the Red Archer, so I always had my mask on. '_Di Immortiles my mask! No wonder I wasn't thrown straight back over board, he must have recognised the mask when they_ went _through my things and wanted to question me. And what about Kari? What have they done with her?' _

These were the questions that raced through my mind as I was led out of the cell and up through the boat to the Generals quarters. I noticed that I was no longer wearing the large fur overalls that I had bought to wear at sea, they had been designed to keep me warm and stop me getting wet. ('_Though they did absolutely neither, I swear if I ever get back to the Earth Kingdom I'm gonna kick that merchant were it hurts'_) Instead I wore my usual, plain travelling clothes that I had been wearing underneath which were now miraculously dry.

The short-sleeved greyish tunic that came down to my mid thighs and had slits up the sides, it had once been the colour purple with yellow out lines, but time had faded and darken it to the murky grey it was now. Around my waist was my large belt which had large pockets containing spare bits of herbs and coins. Over my legs I wore dark baggy 3 quarter trousers, with white cloth bindings from my ankles to my knees. My hands were covered with the black three fingered archer's gloves, and on my left, was a matching arm bracer. Underneath the bracer was the white strip of cloth I had wrapped round my arm to stop the bracer rubbing, and for warmth. My right arm was bare and was usually where I wore my bracelet. As I walked I noticed that the hidden knives in my tunic and sash had been removed.

My head had been heavily bandaged and my hair stuck out around my neck and shoulders. A result of apparently three days of sleep and weeks of neglect that came with being at sea. As I walked my body was stiff and sore. My head ached and my legs felt like lead. It seemed to take forever to get to the General, the guards said nothing too me, though the one behind kept pushing me, making me walk faster. Something which was painful to do. I had to keep counting to ten in my head to stop myself snapping at him.

The boat corridors were dark, and the floor kept rocking from side to side, though not as much as the 'Blue Gullfisher' had. We met no one in the corridors; it was like the ship was deserted. '_Which it can't be because I remember more than two fire benders crowding round me before I fainted.'_ Then I groaned loudly in my head at the thought. I had fainted. One look at a bunch of fire nation soldiers and I had collapsed. Not to mention screaming earlier as well. Blood rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. 'A great w_ay to show us gypsies as fearless warriors'_ I thought bitterly to myself. _'Way to go girl'_

Just then one of the soldier's stomach grumbled loudly, causing him to tense up for a second before carrying on as if nothing had happened.

His hunger suddenly made me realise how hungry I was too. '_I could eat a dragon I'm so hungry'_. It seemed that soup I'd been given, whilst keeping me warm, hadn't done anything to fulfil my hunger

Eventually we came to a stop outside a heavy metal door. The man in front banged on the door and a voice called out "enter". He opened the door and went in, the guy behind pushed me in behind him. Both of them stopped and saluted towards the figure sitting at a table in the middle of the room. He didn't look up when we entered but kept his back turned from us. Arms pushed me forcefully into a kneeling position.

"General." Said the guard who had walked behind me, still in the salute pose. It was the first time I heard him speak, his voice came out all smooth and soft like velvet. "We have brought you the prisoner as requested. She put up no resistance."

"Ahh, thank you soldiers. That will be all." The two men saluted once more before hurriedly leaving the room, probably going to get some food. They didn't even spare me a second glance.

Iroh turned around and surveyed me curiously. He was wearing a reddish brown robe with fire nation soldier pads and a leather chest plate with a large belly protruding out underneath it. His white hair was pulled up into a top knot above his round, pleasant looking face. He had choppy white side burns and a pointed goatee. He face was old with laugh lines and a content expression.

"You've been through quite an ordeal my child. You are very lucky to have survived that storm when others would have perished. But that does not explain why a girl of your age and origins would be out in the middle of the South Pole Ocean, especially alone. One does wonder." He looked at me thoughtfully. "But where are my manners" he exclaimed suddenly, getting to his feet and walking to a cabinet on the other side of the room. "My name is Iroh, I like tea and relaxation. What about you?"

"Err... my name is Rin." My voice went higher at the end making my name seem like a question. "And um, I like the smell of coconuts and the rain. Though not when there's a storm. I don't like the rain then."

Iroh chuckled lightly and turned around revealing my backpack from where it had been in the cabinet. "Here are your things" he said. "As you have probably noticed, you are wearing the clothes you wore underneath your outerwear. I'm afraid you cannot ever wear your waterproofs again. The storm did something to the materials and they are ruined beyond repair." He looked down sadly at this, as if the thought of the clothes being ruined upset him. "Also I'm afraid I cannot return to you your bow, for... safety measures I should say. Rest assured though it will be in good hands.

"And as for your wondrous White Sea-Panther," he clasped his hands merrily," I can promise you no harm will come to her while I am on this ship. My men are loyal and will not disobey me and why would they? Sea Panthers are rare enough, especially the white ones! With your permission, I would like to start milking her right away! It is hard to come by fresh milk while at sea, and I hear Sea-Panthers produce milk sweeter than honey itself. I'm afraid we had to keep her locked up though, as she seemed intent to rip off the arms of any man who came near her, but now your awake you can calm her down. Think of it as payment for your being here."

I blinked at him, confused. This was not what I was expecting. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting but this was not it. People never talked to me like this especially Fire Nation Generals. Though I've never met a Fire Nation General, just captains. He was acting _kindly_ towards me. And he was getting way too excited over milk.

"Urmmm..., thank you" I managed to say, the confusion evident in my voice. Iroh smiled lightly and brought the bag over to the table he had been sitting at.

"Come, join me Rin."

I got up off my knees and walked over to him. The room was not a large one, the centre of the room was taken up mostly by the table. On the far side was a large bed with the fire nation emblem on it. There was also a desk and some chests and cabinets. Above the desk were two curved swords, hung from the wall so their blades were making a cross. Also on the walls, hung the Fire Nation flags with torches stuck in racks here and there, lighting up the room with their fire. Candles also dotted the few surfaces of the room. The desk had a bunch of maps and scrolls strewn upon it and the bed was unmade. In the corner of the room sat a large Tsungi horn.

I joined Iroh at the table, sitting back down on my knees. Iroh was contently sipping away at a tea cup, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. Cautiously, glancing up at Iroh to see if it was alright, I opened up my bag. Immediately I noticed that all the spare arrows had been taken out, leaving the rest of my stuff in a small pile at the bottom. First I took out the tribal bracelet that had once belonged to my mother. It was made with wooden beads being stung together on tightly compacted strands of trigresspider silk. The silk was stretchable so I could easily pull the bracelet over my hand and then let it hang on my wrist without worrying it will come off. In-between two of the beads was a small carving of the Rasja, the Ga'minian symbol for Unity. I quickly slide the bracelet onto its rightful place on right wrist.

Next I took out my fang earring. It was about an inch long and had a small golden hoop drilled into the top of it. Attached to the hoop was the means to hang the fang from your ear. Slowly I reached up and re-attached the fang to my ear, poking the small needle through the hole in my ear, and then clasping it up at the back of my ear. The fang hung down, hidden by my thick reddish brown gypsy hair.

All that was left in my bag now was my money pouch, which I then tied to my belt, my first aid kit, a few stray beads and feathers for my hair, face paints and make up, which I used to disguise myself and my red mask. The mask I wore when I went against the fire Nation, usually to steal supplies, drive out men from Earth Kingdom villages or to set prisoners free. Whatever I was doing, I had built up a reputation for myself. People started calling me 'The Red Archer'. That was the name given on the wanted posters or so I was told seeing as I couldn't read anything that isn't Gypsy. The name came with a sort of fable.

'The Red Archer. Silent and deadly, a hero of the people. He can fire an arrow faster than the eye could see. He never misses.' That's what the people said. It was all exaggerated, of course. The fire Nation made me out to be this bloodthirsty killer, despite the fact I never killed. And the Earth Kingdomers made me out to be like some Hero sent form the spirits. I often wondered what they would think if they found out that they're precious hero, a symbol of hope and resistance, was nothing more than a common gypsy. Not even a boy, like they think I am. The idea would always amuse me at their expense.

'"_They_ _probably wouldn't find a thief and a whore that heroic once more."' _I quoted to myself_._ The line came from an old gypsy proverb about a merchant and a fishmonger which I had always liked as a child, it carries on saying; '"_The eyes of judgement always fail to see the atonement of a one man's waiting sins, as it be the spirits who would atone he when his punishment begins."' _ Peche had always been full of old Gypsy quotes like this, and whenever he said one I would be expected to remember it. He would randomly speak one half of a quote and then f I didn't finish the quote correctly he would make me do some form of hard physical labour as punishment. For instance, I would have to carry Kari, instead of Kari carry me.

"Tell me Rin," said Iroh interrupting my thoughts. "Who taught you to use your bow like you do? When you're disguised as the Red Archer, I mean. I've seen you in action and your skill is impressive. Not something you'd expect from a gypsy."

I let out a sharp laugh at his bluntness. "Wow that was subtle" I replied sarcastically before I could stop myself.

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He raised the tea cup to his lips, keeping eye contact with me.

"It's just, you just admitted that you knew I was the Red Archer and a gypsy in the same sentence. You must be very confident. Usually people would try and trick me into to admitting it, not state my criminal activity as a well known fact! Especially Fire Nation army people, whatever their rank."

"So you admit you are the Red Archer?" he remarked. I blushed when I realised my mistake and then resolved to watch my mouth as much as possible. "And as for the fact you are gypsy," Iroh continued, as if nothing had happened, "it is irrelevant and too obvious to trick you into confirming the fact. I mean, if your appearance wasn't obvious enough, your voice is also accented and in your bag you carried a gypsy tribal bracelet. Then if that wasn't enough you have the general symbol contributed to gypsies branded onto your left arm.

"You must forgive us," he said, not noticing how I had suddenly blanched when he had mentioned the brand, "after you fainted we had our healer look you over. He noticed you had wraps up your left arm but not your right and wondered why. So he removed them, thinking you had some kind of wound but instead saw the brand. It was most peculiar." Iroh paused in his speech suddenly, a curious expression crossing his face. "Why do you have the Ga'minan branded onto your arm?"

I couldn't answer him. I'd have thought him being an Ex-General he would have known. It seemed that the Fire Nation had covered up that part of their history well. A wave of bile rose and got caught in my throat and I shifted uncomfortably under Iroh's gaze.

Thankfully Iroh caught on to my mood and then said a little more softly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Nobody will force you into doing anything you don't want to on this ship."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I choked out. That question had been haunting me since I had entered the room. "I'm your prisoner aren't I? An enemy of the Fire Nation. And a gypsy. You have no reason to be nice to me."

Iroh smiled a little sadly at me. "Because I once knew a gypsy woman who looked a lot like you. Though of course many Ga'minian women look the same." Iroh sighed looking downcast. "She made me a cup of tea and to this day I have never tasted anything as delicious. It was sweet and warming, with a sort of fruitiness to it one could never hope to describe. The scent clings to you making you want more. For years I have searched to come up with the recipe for the tea but with no luck." He looked distraught now, gazing down into his tea cup, wishing it was the tea he had just described. "If only I could taste that tea once more, then I would die happy and content."

I blinked at him. "Wait, you're being nice to me because I remind you of a woman who once served you a nice tea?" It would have been impossible to add more sarcasm into my voice.

"Oh not the only reason" cried Iroh pleasantly looking up, the twinkling now back in his brown eyes. His sudden change of attitude caught me off guard and I stared at him uneasily. "You see if you were to run away, then you would take your Sea-Panther with you and then I won't get fresh milk."

I was amazed._ 'This man cannot be for real.'_

Just then the door opened and an old wizened looking man with large protruding ears came in, pushing a small cart with an array of dishes piled on top.

"Ah dinner!" Iroh smiled happily as if Ethęs had come early. The man started laying out food on the table, setting it for two. He sent me a few curious looks as he replaced Irohs tea with another. Iroh noticed his stares. "Cookie, I don't believe you and Rin have been introduced. Rin this is our ships cook and one of my most favourite people on board. We all call him Cookie. Cookie, this is the gypsy girl Rin, the one who took one look at the fire benders and fainted." I couldn't help but glare at him when he said that. "She has agreed to let us milk her White Panther. Isn't that wonderful!" _'I said no such thing!'_ "Oh and she will be joining us for dinner so could you please go fetch another plate for her? And tell Prince Zuko we are eating now. Thank you."

Cookie said nothing but nodded and left the room, glancing back at me a couple more times.

"We're eating with Zuko?" I asked, suddenly finding myself a little nervous and a bit apprehensive.

"Yes," replied Iroh. "You should meet my nephew face to face without all these weapons and masks getting in the way." '_I'd rather not. Not without anyway of defending myself. A chopstick counts as a weapon right? I could poke him in the eye or something...'_

"You know what I think... I'd rather eat in my cell."

Iroh frowned as Cookie came back in carrying food and chopsticks for me. "Nonsense" he said. "You must eat with us. You've had nothing but that fire warming broth for three days. And anyway we have a lot of things to discuss with you."

"No really" I protested, "We can talk about them another time. I'm not even that hungry." My stomach gave a large growl. '_Oh yeah sure, betray me why don't you.'_

Iroh gave me a pointed look. "Thank you cookie that will be all." He said to the cook, who bowed and left the room.

My stomach growled again and I looked down to the food in front of me. It seemed to be a stir fry of fish, rice and vegetables with a red sauce and fire crackers on the side. My mouth began to water as the rich, spicy smells reached my nose. _'Maybe if I ate quickly I could leave before Zuko comes'_ I thought hopefully.

Iroh served him and myself some of the food, talking about the fresh fish and how hard it was to buy Fire crackers in Earth Kingdom. Apparently these fire crackers had come from a Fire Nation colony by the sea up in the east. I told him I had never had a fire cracker before and he immediately began to pile my bowl full with the stuff. I raised one of the sticks to my lips, hesitating before opening my mouth. Fire crackers had a reputation of burning your mouths.

Just then the door burst open violently causing me to jump and drop my fire cracker. My head whipped around and there, stood in the doorway, was Prince Zuko glaring steadfastly at me.

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><p><strong>Annnd that is is the end of 'Partie des Interrogatoires Une' (gotta love google translate.) Right, next chapter, Rin meets Zuko face to face..what will happen? I have already stated that they will be love interests so first meets are always important. Will they like each other? Will they hate each other? Will Rin ever get to taste a fire cracker? Will Kari ever get milked? Will Zuko get stabbed in the eye with a chopstick? Find out in <strong>Partie des Interrogatoires Deux.<strong>**

**Annd now its time for;**

**The translation of gypsy language and culture handbook for those lesser beings who are not me.**

**Okay we get introduced to Gypsy culture a bit more in this chapter so we're gonna go bit by bit first saying how to pronounce the names.**

**Je-Sung, pronunciation. - The first part 'Je' is just said like 'jay' or 'may'. And Sung is normal, nothing different. Je' is an old friend of Rin's and you will find out more about him as the story progresses.**

**Peche, pronunciation. - The first 'e' is inflicted upwards like the french 'é' is. For those of you who do not know of the land of french or of their annoying hard language to learn, I always think as the 'e' as in air. Its high up there. Ooo 'there' works too! (I've made a discovery! Secretary person note that down!) Coming back, its not exactly the same sound cause theres no 'r's but the same kind of 'e'. Now then 'che' bit is with a soft sounding 'c' so like 'shee'. Peche is Rin's old mentor like Gyatso to Aang, and like them, he is a bit of a father figure. Moving on.**

**Ga'minain- There are two types of gypsies. The ones who travel around on boats, who are just simply referred to as Sea-Gypsies, and gypsies who roam by land. Over the centuries outsiders have come to refer to these gypsies as Ga'minians' due to their home city Ga'mi. The name sort of stuck and it is now their official term. ****There are few differences between Sea Gypsies and Ga'minians. One of them, is they both have slightly different traditions and talents. Such as, Sea-Gypsies tend to earn their living by sea fairing trades such as fishing, pirating or cracken hunting. While Ga'minians are more of the performing type. Songs, dances, plays, you get the gist. ****Another difference would be their features and accents. Ga'minians are commenly recognised by there light brown hair, with rays of red in it and their dark eyes. Sea-Gypsies have hair as black as night and lightly coloured eyes. Both kinds of gypsies have tanned skin, many possess freckles and the language is the same, though the slang and a few of their characters in the alphabet are different.**

**The Ethęs - This is a Gypsy festival which takes place every year during the summer. It is the time when Sea Gypsies and Ga'minians all meet togther in Ga'mi and celebrate the year and pray to the spirits for a good harvest and kind winter. Sort of like Gypsy new year, there is food, dance, songs just general festivities. Also the day after the **Ethęs is when all the ten year olds go before the Elders for there future jobs to be given. The term 'like the **Ethęs had come early' is used just like we would use like christmas had come early. It is the same sort of context. ******

*******Note on history. The night the fire nation burnt down Ga'mi was on the night of the **Ethęs. Over half of the gypsy population, Ga'minian and Sea Gypsy alike were killed that night. Now the **Ethę is a time of mourning. Many gypsies still make the journey back to Ga'mi and place candles and flowers on the ruins.**********

**Sia Dormne - translation; I'm asleep. **

**Si, is the gypsy for I, while the 'a' can mean either am/are/is. It shows that a female is speaking. If it were a boy, the word would have been Siu instead of Sia. Gypsies tend to have different forms of verbs depending on whether the speaker is male or female, or what gender they are talking about. Dormne, I got from the latin word dormio which means I sleep. I think you'll find a few of my Gypsy words having some form of connection woth latin words though many will come completly off the top of my head.**

**Rasja- the word its self means Unity. But it is also the name or their symbol for Unity, which when used in a written sentence, would be written like a character or letter instead of being spelt out. It is also their word for the Water bending symbol which also means unity. The fact that Rin has a bracelet with a charm version of the symbol is not very relevant to gypsy culture. It could have been any symbol on the bracelet. **

**Di Immortiles - means By the spirits or Oh spirits. Used like we would say 'oh my god' or 'by thunder'. Like Dormne I got this from a latin exclamation which is spelt similarly and means By the Gods. **

**Ga'minan- this is the symbol for gypsy kind. Like the fire nation has the flames or air nomads have the three little swirls. It originally had a different name which meant freedom. But outsiders came to abbreviate the symbol of Ga'minan just like Ga'mi or Ga'minians. So now the Ga'minan is the gypsy symbol ofr freedom despite them alrady having a word for freedom and Ga'minan not being a word in their language. **

*******What it actually looks like will be described later in the story and so will why Rin has it branded onto her arm. Right now I have and idea of its appearance though I'm not quite sure how to describe it yet. I'm thinking I may also draw a picture then upload it to deviantart or so you can visualise it better. If I do, I will put the link on my profile and mention it in my authors note.**

**Okay, I think thats everything to do with the gypsy culture. If I've missed anything or if you don't understand please feel free to PM me, because I 'd hate for any reader to feel left out.**

**One last thing, I mentioned briefly a trigresspider. This is another one of my made up creatures for the Avatar world and is the combination of a tiger and spider. Trigresspider thread, when spun together, can make a very flexible,stretchy, water proof material.**

**Right thats it really. I apologise profusely for the delay in updates. It took me forever to write this chapter only to find I hated int so I then spent the whole of yesterday rewriting it with about a zillion cups of coffee. Please tell me what you think, any improvements, anything you'd like to happen. What you think of Rin, whose character you get to see more of in this chapter.**


	4. Interrogations Part II

**Yeah, it's been a while. Sorry. Disclaimers; yeah I don't own the avatarverse but I do get to claim the gypsies in this story. And Kari.**

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><p><span>Interrogations Part II<span>

The door burst open violently causing me to jump and drop my fire cracker. My head whipped around and there, stood in the doorway, was Prince Zuko glaring steadfastly at me.

"What," he spat, "is _she_ doing here?"

I blinked at him. He hadn't changed one bit. Clad in Fire nation robes and light amour, his head was hairless bar for the dark ponytail at the back of his head. His skin was pale like most high class citizens and on the left side of his face was the large purply red patch of burned skin. How he got the scar I don't know, probably got injured during a training practice of something. It didn't do much to improve his looks, not that it matters. Whenever I've seen him, his face was always twisted into some fearsome scowl, his golden eyes burning just like fire.

"Ahh Zuko." Iroh looked round at his nephew happily, not seeming to notice the most obvious anger radiating from him. I subtly slipped a chopstick into my hand and hide it under the table on my lap. Just in case. "I'm glad you could join us. Please forgive us for starting without you, the food just looked too tempting."

Iroh gazed down at the food, his mouth watering at the edges. He then took a large bite out of the fish. "Humuhmuhm," he said through a mouthful of food. He swallowed heavily. "Delicious."

"Uncle," Zuko's voice was forced in a calmness that gave me goose bumps up my back. My hands clenched more tightly on the chopstick. "Why is she in my room?"

'_His room?' _I looked around the room again. The large bed, the fire nation emblems, the desk covered with candles and maps, the decorative dual dao swords on the wall. _His room_. I have to say, I was a little surprised. Where were the skulls? Where were all the horrible grotesque vases and statues that matched his personality? I mean, the room looked _normal. _Not particularly my taste, the room would have looked better with rotting fish guts hanging from the walls instead of all the fire nation merchandise but still, not what I expected from Zuko.

Iroh looked confused. "You asked me to ask her some questions..."

"I asked you interrogate her not bring her up here and have a dinner with her! She's our prisoner not our guest!" Zuko yelled in a mixture of anger and exasperation.

"I'm in charge of her, Zuko," said Iroh calmly. "Not you. And I will treat her as I see fit. And, my method has worked has it not? I already have all the information I need"

Zuko looked at his Uncle surprised. "You have?" He came and joined us at the table, sitting down opposite me. "Like what?"

"Ermm, I'm still here you know. There need to act as I'm not." I said slowly.

Zuko's head whipped round to look at me. "Silence." He spat. "You will speak when spoken too, you got that? Ga'minian scum."

I blushed angrily and glared at him. Darkly, I imagine what it would be like to poke out one of those smarmy golden eyes of his. Very satisfying, my mind decided and my grip on the chopstick tightened even more. _'Okay, my imagination is starting to worry me.'_

"Zuko," Iroh reprimanded with a sigh. "Do not use that sort of language, you are higher and better than that."

Zuko shot me a dirty look, and for a second our two angry glares catch each other, and I am left glowering directly into his golden eyes. His deep, shining, regal eyes with light brown flecks around the pupils. The same eyes as his father. The same father who burned down Ga'mi. Disgusted, I quickly looked away and down at my food, no longer hungry. Dully I noticed my fire cracker on the floor,I bent to pick it up to put it on the table.

"So what do you know?" Zuko asked above me, and I remerged to see him helping himself to a bit of fish and rice, Iroh was sipping a cup of tea thoughtfully.

"Well," Iroh put down his tea and looked over at me. "Her name is Rin, She's agreed to let us milk her White-Sea-Panther and she is the Red Archer. That's about it." _'Because that's top secret information which was tortured out of me. Well done Iroh.'_

Zuko slammed down his bowl and cried, "I knew you were the Red Archer."He brandished his chopsticks at me and I wondered vaguely if I should bring mine up to parry his. "I wasn't sure at first, all things considered, but then both your mask and bow are exactly the same as the one he uses and when I came to think of it, you're about the same build ." He gestured towards my shoulders, which were broad and slightly built up like a boys.

The result of using the bow; you need strong back and arm muscles, so naturally after five years of archery, my torso wasn't exactly slim and delicate, but buff and very muscular. My shoulders had become out of proportion to the rest of my body, so it used to be easy to pass as a boy and I often would when I travelled around with Peche. But then womanhood came, bringing me the genetic gypsy curves like a salt shaker. Or it would. At the moment I was still in the transition, leaving my torso obviously female while my hips were still rather skinny. Whenever I went out as the Red Archer, I would usually bind my chest, which is why the Earth Kingdomers continued to think me a boy. Plus I worked at night, and dressed in black, so I could easily blend into my surroundings, so it would be harder for people to notice the obviously bulge on my chest.

Being a Gypsy left me naturally small as a result of not a lot of food as a child. Travelling round in the troupe, we usually had to scavenge for food if we did not earn enough money to buy some, and sometimes we would steal crops from the farmer's field. When I became Peches apprentice, I had it much better than other children my age. Peche was an excellent hunter and he would always bring home meat for the table. He taught me how to hunt, which plants were edible and which were to be used in healing. Peches wife Maerin was an excellent cook so I always had food to eat, which was good, seeing as I needed my energy for all the work Peche put me through.

He had only ever trained boys, but never in archery, still, he seemed content to put me through all the hard manual labour he had done with the boys to make me strong enough to fight. When it became clear that I was not the right sort for strong, hand to hand combat, he decided to teach me archery. I was agile and quick and we soon came up with a fighting style that suited my small body. Still, even without all the immense bodly training, the bow has hardened my back muscles and toned my front, leaving me fit and stronger than I look.

"What do you mean 'all things considered'?" I asked now, ignoring the 'speak when spoken to rule'.

"Well, you're a girl. And a gypsy." He rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. And I thought it was impossible to hate this guy even more. I was wrong.

I sighed and looked down at my food. "That's one of the brilliant things about you fire nation idiots." I said lightly, picking at my fish lightly. I glanced up at him through my eyelashes and was satisfied with the look on his face. Even Iroh looked slightly surprised with his eyebrows raised.

"What's brilliant about us?" He asked.

"Well, it's just you're all so stupid. You think you're better than everyone else, so it never occurs to you that there is someone out there who can kick your ass. You underestimate people. And that has always been your greatest weakness. You'd be surprised what we gypsies can do. "

Zuko scoffed and rolled his eyes again. "Hardly. Gypsies are dirty thieving sons of whores who have nothing better to do than reap off the rewards of others. You can't even bend."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's true we gypsies do not have an element to bend. Unless of course we marry someone belonging to an element and choose to live as gypsies, in which case our offspring could very well bend their parents natural element. And yes, there are gypsies who are thieves and sons of whores, but it's not just us. Fire Nation and Earth kingdom both have their share of harlots and cheats. You talk like you're better than me, well Zuko, I'm not the one who has to blackmail people to get what I want, and as for fighting techniques and style, well," I smirked at him, "that scar on your stomach should be proof enough that I don't need fire to beat you in a fight. Oh, and as for the 'girls not being warriors' you obviously haven't been to Kyoshi Island. And I pity you when you do."

I continued to smirk as Zuko slammed down his food for a second time and jumped to his feet. I knew I had hit home with that one. Iroh remained on the floor, looking thoughtful.

"Listen, you stupid Ga'minian tramp! That was one time! The arrow wasn't even that deep and I was distracted at the time. I could have easily burned your arrow to ashes if I had seen it, so don't get into your head that you,re better than me. And anyway you're not a warrior, you're a coward. Where's the honour in hiding behind a bow metres away from your opponent?"

I also jumped to my feet now, standing glaring at him. "Oh I'm sorry my Lord," I spat at him, "for not being a fire bender. How ironic,being talked to about honour by a banished prince who brought nothing but disappointment and shame to his nation? Who couldn't even defeat a poor cowardly gypsy girl who is _obviously_ not warrior enough for him, yet still managed to injure him enough to make him cry with pain. And I hate to break it to you, _Sire, _but that argument is weak. Where's the honour when you hide behind fire eh? Where's the pride in getting a bunch of your Uncle's old war pals to do your dirty work? Where's the honour in scaring and threatening and blackmailing people to get what you want. I am a gypsy and proud of it! I don't care how low on the ranks we are, because either way, a gypsy is ten times better than a failed, spoilt, bullying, stupid, banished, idiot prince like you!"

Zuko stared at me in shock like I had just slapped him. And I felt like I just had. I wish I had. I couldn't believe I had lost my cool like that. I was trying to play the injured gypsy girl, see if I could play off that, not shout and yell and infuriate my captives. Peche always taught me I was better than 'barstool brawling' as he liked to call it. Yet I had just said all those things to Zuko with hardly any goading. I mean, I've heard worse things than he just said and haven't even batted an eye. _'What's wrong with me? Maybe it's I got a bit too much sea water in my system?'_

"You say you're better than me," Zuko said slowly, after a while. Every syllable seemed to be engrained with loathing. "That I'm a horrible being, yet judging by what you just said, it seems we might be on the same level."

He looked at me darkly as I realised he had a point. I open my mouth to say something but he quickly cut me off. Good thing to, cause I might have ended up apologising to him.

"I should have you thrown back overboard. White Sea Panther and all. But now you are here you will remain here as the ships slave girl, you will keep your mouth shut and be useful, and in return we will give you food to eat and a bed to sleep in. If you object to any order, or make a pain of yourself, you find yourself back in that ocean okay?"

I nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. Honestly, I couldn't have planned it better. Now when Zuko finds the avatar I will be right alongside him. Not quite sure what to do when the avatar is found but I'd cross that bridge when it came.

"You think you know everything," Zuko carried on after my nod. "So I'm going to assume that you know why I'm out here. So I'm telling you now that I will do whatever I can to find the avatar and return home. And when I do, my father will restore my honour back to me and I will take my rightful place beside him. And you will be imprisoned as a war criminal and your pet will be given as a gift to my family. But before then, you will do everything you can to help me find the avatar. They say that Ga'minian's know the land and it's people better than anyone else, so tell Red Archer, what have you heard about the location of the Avatar?"

"Isn't the avatar dead?" I said going back to the first thing I say when someone mentions him. Force of habit I'm afraid. It's a good conversation starter to getting some information about the guy anyway. Not that any information has actually led to finding him.

Zuko advanced on me. "You and I both know the avatar is very much alive."

"Why should I care about the avatar?" I said, going onto the argument that my people have used for generations. "Your precious little bender is there to bring peace to the _four_ nations. Not five. We Gypsies have no business worshipping the ground he walks on, trust me."

Zuko frowned but bought my answer. Still sitting at the table, Iroh rubbed at his goatee looking even more thoughtful. _'At least he doesn't seem to hate me'_ I thought feebly.

"Who taught you to fight like you do?" His sudden change of topic caught me off guard and I blinked at him stupidly. "With the bow." He elaborated.

'_Ahh question I don't have to lie to' _"Easy. A Gypsy." I smiled at him, my confidence coming back. "Surprised ? I can assure you he's a much better _warrior_ than I am."

Iroh frowned. "I thought all the Gypsy warriors were imprisoned after Ga'mi burned."

'All the ones that survived at least' I muttered darkly, my face scowling again. Subconsciously I tugged at my left arm, fiddling with my bracer. Iroh noticed and sent me a sharp look, becoming even more thoughtful.

I sighed and answered the question like I was reciting from a passage. "At the age of ten years old every gypsy, Sea or Land, will go before the Elders, the morning after the Ethę's to have their future trade or profession bestowed upon them. They then get the rest of the day with their family to say goodbye and pack their things before moving off with their new master the next day. They then get five years apprenticeship and then one extra year practise before going before the Elders again, the afternoon after their sixteenth Ethę's, and being made officially adults. The girls are then expected to find and marry a husband and bear him at least one child before the age of 21. Any single woman after that age who has not been married brings dishonour to her family."

"That still doesn't answer my question..."

"Ga'mi burned when I was twelve!" I snapped. "Three years ago, 96 ASC- Year of the dragon! That still gave me two years to study under my master. And two years was all I needed." There was no need to let on that Peche hadn't been capture and had carried on training me for two more years. No need at all. If Iroh was content to think that all the remaining gypsy warriors were behind bars, then I wasn't going to be the one to set him straight.

Iroh nodded thoughtfully. "What was his name?" He asked, "The Gypsy who trained you?"

I pinched the bridge of nose suddenly feeling exhausted. Talk of Ga'mi always had that effect on me. That and nearly dying just three days earlier. "Why does it matter?"

"Just curious. The man must have done a good job to get you at the level you are now in only two years. Quite an achievement."

I half smiled at the compliment. In actual fact, my skill with the bow didn't really improve much till after Ga'mi when I travelled around with Peche for another two years before we split. What happened in my home town had given me a new determination to be better, for when the next time came. It was that determination that improved my skill to the level it is today.

"Peche," I said eventually. "His name's Peche."

"That's a weird name," Zuko commented. "Yet again, he is a Gypsy."

I glared at him. "It means dignified one in our language. You don't speak it, so of course the name would sound foreign to you."

Zuko looked unimpressed with my tone and expect he was about to say so but Iroh interrupted him. "What does Rin mean then?"

"Rin simply means Maiden," I told him. "Which explains why it's so common amongst girls. Usually though, the word 'rin' is just one half of our name, added on at the end."

"Is that the case with you?" Iroh took a sip of tea, his face instantly become relaxed. Idly I wondered how we could go from insulting each other to talking about names in matter of minutes. Zuko looked like he was having the same thoughts, as he kept shooting looks at his Uncle who was plainly ignoring him.

"No, I'm just Rin." I don't know why but it made me blush, like I was embarrassed to have such a simple name. Not even something exotic like Qwaerin or Ringo. Just Rin.

Iroh opened his mouth to ask another question but Zuko banged his fist on the table. He was obviously out of patience. "Enough! Who cares about names?" His patience had obviously worn thin with our small talk. In fact all the polite talk had made me a little nervous.

"Now, now Prince Zuko, you should not be so quick to cut people down. It is always good to learn about other cultures. And very interesting." He smiled pleasantly at me, and I stared gormlessly back, unsure of what to do. As I think I've mentioned earlier, Fire Nation Generals treating me nicely, is a form of etiquette I had never experienced before.

"Yeah? Well I can think of more interesting things." He said angrily, which is to say he spoke like he normally would. "Like why a gypsy girl with an 'interesting, cultural name' was out in the middle of the Southern Ocean! On a creature that not even supposed to exist!"

I rolled my eyes. "Just because White Sea Panthers tend not to show themselves to humans does not mean they don't exist."

"Then how come you've got one?"

I shrugged. "Because I saved her life. Loyal ever since."

"And why were you in that ocean?" _'Okay, now lie.' _

"Fishing." I said immediately without thinking. '_That was a terrible lie.'_ Iroh and Zuko raised their eyebrows at me, not believing for a second. _'Okay, now go along with it.' _"See, there's been a shortage of fish down at the markets and Gypsies don't really get high priorities so I thought I'd try for some catch and I kind of fell asleep and then the boat drifted and I got lost." I finished lamely, after saying everything in a rush.

Zuko snorted. "You're a terrible liar."

"You're a terrible person." I shot back quickly, and Zuko glared at me. '_Your maturity levels are sky high, Rin. Sky high.'_

"Rin." Iroh said warning me as smoke started to billow slightly out of Zuko's nose. He reminded me of an angry Rhino-bull.

"Fine!" I let out an exasperated sigh. "I got caught by Dainee's down off the south coast, I was unprepared alright!" I cried defensively as Iroh and Zuko looked confused. "They took me down the Sali current, where to I never found out." I began to pace. "Kari and I managed to escape and I hijacked a boat. We got caught in the wrong currents and ended here by the South Pole. Then that stupid storm hit us with ice bergs and the boat didn't stand a chance! Kari and I were in that water for nearly half the night I reckon. She was alright though, she's got that heat generating fur, if it weren't for her I would have frozen within minutes. But if it wasn't for your passing ship, we both would have eventually died. Thank you." I bowed low to them in gratitude.

"You are most welcome my child." Iroh said standing up and approaching me. It seemed he had bought the story easily, and wasn't suspicious one bit. It was pretty convincing, if I do say so myself. "But I'm afraid I do not understand one part of it. What's a Danny?"

I laughed slightly at his failure of copying the pronunciation. "_Dainee._" I corrected, stretching the word out long. "Is gypsy slang for someone for sells other people as a trade."

"You mean a slave trader?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, exactly." I said pointing to him, while Iroh next to me looked disturbed.

"I wasn't even aware they existed anymore." Iroh said distressed. "I suppose it explains the brand."

My hand automatically reached to cover my left wrist over my bracer. I hadn't even thought about my mark, I guess I got lucky it fits with the story. "Yeah," I nodded, my voice going soft. "They did that."

Zuko frowned at me as if something was wrong. He opened his mouth but Iroh cut him off.

"Enough questions for today Zuko. We've found out what we wanted, and anyway, the food's now gone cold." Iroh put a hand on my shoulder and started guiding me towards the door. "It is getting late Prince Zuko. I suggest you start thinking about retiring for the night. I will sort Rin out with the things she needs. Cookie will come and collect the dishes."

Zuko seemed to think about objecting but gave up on the idea, instead going towards the table of maps and scrolls and sitting down by it. "Fine," he said indifferently. "I was tired anyway."

I was just about to walk through the door when I quickly remembered. "My bag!" I cried and hurried back to the table where I'd left it. Shouldering it, I felt like something was missing before realising it was my bow. Iroh had said I wouldn't get it back for 'safety' reasons. Meaning they didn't want me armed. I'd have to work to convince them to left me have it again, but for now I guess I'd just have to go without her.

Iroh took me out the room, bidding goodnight to Zuko who firmly ignored us. Iroh sighed and started down the dark tunnel like corridors of the ship with me following behind. He hummed softly to himself as he walked, stroking his beard thoughtfully. I sighed heavily, breaking him out of his trance and he looked down at me. Age had obviously shrunk the Ex General, but even so, he still has a few inches on me.

"What is it, my child?" He asked, opening a barrel door leading through to a corridor exactly the same as the last one.

"Are you always this thoughtful, or it because I'm here?" We came to a stop outside a door.

Iroh smiled crookedly. "So you noticed?" He opened the door and it swung outwards revealing a small storage cupboard, a hammock hanging down, taking up all the room. "Here is where you will be sleeping. There's no need for the cell anymore. I trust you not to wonder the ship or do something stupid." He gave me a shrewd look which I returned with my best poker face. This seemed to amuse Iroh and as his eyes crinkled happily at me. I found it hard to believe that this was the man who led the legendary six hundred day siege of Ba Sing Se. "Good night Rin."

He turned to leave and I called after him. "But you haven't answered my question."

Iroh stopped and cocked his head. "I am thoughtful, Rin, because you have given me a lot to think about."

And then he was out of the room, and the door swung shut behind him. It would have been pitch black if not for the candle in the corner. The room was tiny and cramped, the dark grey metal walls making it seem even darker. I felt extremely tired, despite the fact I had only been awake for a little while, and the dark hammock looked really invited. I sighed and collapsed onto the hammock, which broke and I fell to the floor. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>Again, it's been a while. Sorry. So did you like what I made you wait for? Probably didn't live up to the suspense of waiting but yeah, sorry. Excuse? None. Except for losing four pages and completely forgetting what I wrote. Seriously. What you just read above is completely different form the origninal chapter 3, I hope you like this one though cause the original got lost in space...<strong>

**Right explanations;**

**Peche means dignified one. I can tell you now that piece of information is completely irrelevant to the story. And is made up by moi and probably isn't true.**

**Rin means maiden again, made up by moi, I think in Japanese it means cold? But still, I'm not sure and in this text it means maiden.**

**Ga'minian, you've this insult used more in this story now by Zuko so you should see how it works. The word alone is insulting, especially to someone isn't a Gypsy. Usually put together with 'scum' or 'whore' though some people can become a little more creative.**

**Dainee. Pronounced; Day-nee. Simples. Iroh pronounces it 'Dar-nee'. Means Slave trader in gypsy 'slang'. The full word is Dainanda. Pronounced; Day-narn-da. The word is abbreviated to Dainee. The word itself has no connection to our world beyond sounding cool in my head. So no latin influence.**

**We also got to see a bit of culture when Rin explains how she got her professions. So gonna quick recap; ON every child's tenth Ethęs, they will go before the elders to get a profession for their life. Now they do get a say, they will tell the elders what they wanna do if they know what they want then the elders will take that into consideration, so it's not all dictatorship, like it sounds. They then get six years, five to train and study, and one for practice before becoming an adult.**

**When Rin was ten, she got the profession Warrior, which was rare for a girl. Though she is fact an Archer, it still classes as Warrior. Now what Rin didn't know at the time was she was actually classes as 'savior'. The Elders knew that she would one day help the avatar and bring peace to her people, so instead of giving her the profession she wanted, they instead sent her to train with Peche. Rin stayed in Ga'mi to do this for two years, before it burned and then traveled around for two more years. So she is now in her fifth year of training, but Peche had bumped her up to sixth and final stage of training a year early. It was only then that she was told what she must do, so only then did she start looking for the avatar, which is why she's had a year on her own.**

**Dates and Times**

**The dates used in this story ('96 ASC- Year of the dragon) I got of the avatar wiki page. I'm not going to explain how it works so if you wanna know just go google it. The page is called; 'History of the World of Avatar'**

**Basically the year this story is set is late 99 ASC-Year of the Ram. Then the story will carry on untill the next summer when Sozin's comet is in 100 ASC-Year of the Monkey. (The new year starts after winter, and despite Gypsies celebrating new year in the summer, they stick to the same dates and timeline as the rest of the world to save confusion.)**

**Rin was born the same year as Sokka, Suki, Mai and Princess Yue, 84 ASC-Year of the Dragon, which means in this story she's fifteen. Dragon pops up a lot actually, and as the dragon is the Fire Nations national Animal even though they hunt them down and kill them, I thought it was quite fitting seeing as this is a Zuko romance fanfic. All coincidence by the way. So is the fact Ga'mi burned during the year of the dragon. I'm just lucky it all works.**

**If I haven't explained something, or haven't explained it well or you just want to rant at me for taking so long to update or you have a question or you just wanna say Hi then please Pm me or review, I don't mind. And thank you to the people who like or Favorited this story, your the best. **

**Also, I'm thinking about using my writing as my skill in DofE, in which case this story might be involved. So having come back for what Im writing is very important and I would love if you could help me out by reviewing saying what you think, if you liked it, whether my writing skills have improved or decreased in your opinion, anything really. Where I could improve (cause I do want to get better.)**

**If any of you have any requests for stuff you want to happen or say, then please just ask and I'll consider cause if you like this story then it's just as much yours as it is mine. Cause I do write it and have complete control over what happens, but I like the idea of you guys having a say, how ever small it is.**

**Okay I've said enough. Till next time**


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